Christie sends more help to Florida ahead of Irma

As Hurricane Irma makes its way through the Caribbean, it is now expected to slam Miami. As of 10 a.m., Miami was about 60 hours from the first effects of the storm.
Wochit

In this GOES-East satellite image taken Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2017 at 3:45 p.m. EDT, and released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Hurricane Irma, a potentially catastrophic category 5 hurricane, moves westward in the Atlantic Ocean toward the Leeward Islands. Hurricane Irma grew into a dangerous Category 5 storm, the most powerful seen in the Atlantic in over a decade, and roared toward islands in the northeast Caribbean Tuesday on a path that could eventually take it to the United States.(Photo: AP)

The governor’s office announced late last night that NJ Task Force 1, the State's Urban Search and Rescue Team, would be heading to Eglin Air Force Base in Florida to assist with Hurricane Irma.

Eighty members left Thursday with three tractor trailers, two box trucks, five sprinter vans, two command vehicles and an additional F-250 towing vehicle after a request was made by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). In addition, the state is sending down six boats, a water support trailer and a fleet service truck.

NJ Task Force 1 has been activated & will deploy to Eglin Air Force Base to assist our friends in Florida as they prepare for Hurricane Irma

“New Jersey is well-equipped and ready to assist in handling any crisis that arises in the wake of Hurricane Irma,” said Gov. Chris Christie in a press release. “When our state was in the midst of an emergency during Superstorm Sandy, other states responded with the help we needed and now, we will be there for our friends in Florida, as we have been for those in Texas and Louisiana still reeling from Hurricane Harvey.”

Members of the state’s Army National Guard deployed to Florida earlier this week to provide emergency response support for people expected to be impacted by Hurricane Irma which has already caused catastrophic damage in the Caribbean.

I approved the deployment of NJ Army National Guard Co. 253 to Florida to provide support in anticipation of Hurricane Irma. Godspeed.

The U.S. Consulate General in Curacao said it believes about 6,000 Americans are stranded on St. Martin. At least four people were killed in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and officials said they expected to find more bodies.

Florida, along with both Carolinas and Georgia, has already declared a state of emergency as they brace for impact from the Category 4 storm and its 155 mph winds. It is likely to make landfall in Florida early Sunday.

The current tracking shows the storm's eye splitting Florida as it moves northward up the state just west of the Miami metropolitan area, with a population of 6 million. The storm is also expected to slam into Georgia and North Carolina.

Christie also signed an administrative order temporarily waiving both the International Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA) and the International Registration Plan (IRP) requirements for commercial vehicles traveling to the areas affected by Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma as part of disaster relief.

This will help speed up the process of getting relief supplies to the affected areas. It suspends the requirement that out-of-state commercial truckers first obtain temporary IRP registration and IFTA license trip permits prior to traveling through New Jersey.

The suspension of IFTA and IRP requirements shall remain in effect until October 1.